Background: The Nazis from the beginning put great emphasis on ceremony and ritual. This is a decription of the pageantry of the 1927 Nuremberg party rally.

The source: Alfred Rosenberg and Wilhelm Weiß, Reichsparteitag der NSDAP Nürnberg 19./21. August 1927 (Munich: Verlag Frz. Eher, 1927), pp. 47-52.

Nuremberg 1927:

Torchlight Procession, Dedication of Banners, Mass March

1. The Torchlight Procession

As darkness fell on Nuremberg's rooftops and walls on Saturday evening, the Brown Shirts vanished from the city's streets. Huge masses of German citizens and party members from Nuremberg and from all parts of the German-speaking world filled the streets in expectation of the appearance of every last German freedom fighter who had come to Nuremberg. Above all they gathered before the Hotel Deutscher Hof, where Adolf Hitler awaited his fighters.

In the distance, march music and unceasing shouts of Heil announced the approach of the procession. Soon its head appeared at the corner. Within a few minutes, the Frauentor moat resembled a sea of fire. In astonishing order, the Brown Shirts marched past their Führer and greeted him with their eyes shining, the hand with the burning torch raised as in an oath. The enthusiasm of both the onlookers and the marchers hardly knew any limits.

First came the Bavarians, with their glorious banner from 1923, then the Brandenburgers, the Hanoverians, the Thuringians and the Rhinelanders, the Saxons, the Hamburgers, the Holsteiners, the Hessians, the fighters from the Ruhr, the Austrians and Pommeranians, the Mecklenburgers and those from Baden, our comrades from the Saar and Silesia, Württemburg and Franconia. The new Germany marched. With mine lamps that otherwise lit their way in the pits, National Socialist miners greeted their Führer Adolf Hitler.

It was a moving picture as those from Vienna, Kärnten, Tyrolia, Salzburg and Lower Austria saw Adolf Hitler for the first time. A so-called Greater German Christian Socialist government had refused to allow them to come to Germany. They came in spite of great sacrifices to gain new strength, to hear their Führer speak, to see him in person.

The endless column of 15,000 to 20,000 men marched past, with ever new banners, new S.A. bands. And that was not all. A large number arrived only in the late evening of Saturday or Sunday morning. About 1,000 Hitler Youths followed the S.A., and the S.S. ended the one-and-a-half hour march of the fighters for the coming Third Reich.

2. The Dedication of Banners on the Luitpoldhain

A clear fall morning broke on Sunday, 21 August. Processions of S.A. men streamed toward the Luitpoldhain from every part of the city, some marching, some in trucks. The broad terraced field, surrounded by greenery, was the ideal place to hold the huge crowds. Special trains alone brought more than 40,000 people to Nuremberg. At least as many arrived on regular trains, trucks and busses. A group of Berlin S.A. from the "banned NSDAP" [The Berlin police had banned the party] even came to Nuremberg on foot. Their sacrifical deed was announced by a red banner with white lettering, here and also during the torchlight procession and the mass march.

The march of tens of thousands onto the Luitpoldhain was guided by markers right and left of the terraced steps and by blazing fires on fir-decked pylons. It was an organized military accomplishment of the first order. It was under the direction of the calm, sure leadership of the Supreme S.A. leader, Captain von Pfeffer and his staff. Its confidence and discipline proved that the National Socialist S.A. is even today a strong group that is far superior, casting all other such groups in Germany, whether to the left or the right, into the shadows, both in its unified political will and in its military values. Many hundreds of Swastika banners waved above the heads of the Brown Shirts who filled the broad expanse of the field, a remarkably striking picture that increased in intensity as in response to fanfares and drumbeats the storm columns of the new Germany raised their right arms and thundered out their Heils to greet their Führer, who appeared with his staff shortly after 9 a.m. The swastika banners had been brought to the Green Terrace, where now a forest of flags filled three levels in a half circle that surrounded the mighty ranks. To the fore stood the musicians and trumpeters, whose shining instruments bore a white-green cloth on one side, a Swastika on a red background on the other. An enormous crowd surrounded the field, watching this imposing and unforgettable ceremony. It was the dedication of twelve new standards for the Gaue Bayreuth, Frankfurt a. M., Chemnitz, Ruhr (Hattingen), Potsdam, Zwickau, Essen, Bochum, Nordmark, Vienna, Hanover, Rhine. The standard bearers stood in a row before Adolf Hitler, whose booming voice went across the total silence of the enormous gathering. After the trumpet sounded, he made the following impressive remarks:

In November 1918 the old flags of a thousand victorious battles were taken down, and with them too sank the honor of the Reich.

In 1919 this Republic gained its own symbol. Hundreds of thousands and millions of Germans fought this symbol, which was forced upon us. But also in 1919 a movement was founded in holy protest against the destruction of the nation's honor, against the squandering of our national inheritance, and this movement created its own symbol in 1920. The first German flag was given in 1920 to a small group of people, and today you can see them here. In 1923 the first banner with the eagle was consecrated, in the wish and hope that it would become the victory symbol of Germany's liberation. In 1924 the movement was dead. In 1926 we received new banners; today we have come together once again, the brown army of the swastika, and again we consecrate twelve banners that obligate us to hold them with the honor they deserve, for they are the flags that will fly over Germany's future.

We ask the Lord who gives us strength to carry this symbol so that each German may look with pride at these banners and that they may fly over all of Germany; not the Germany of Versailles, but the Germany of our German language and tongue. We ask the Almighty to make us strong in the coming years in faith, in the will for freedom, and in the confidence that one may ban an organization, but never a movement. It will rise again, just as we believe that our people and Fatherland will rise again, stronger than ever before. We hope to God that it happens under the sign of these flags and banners!

Unending shouts of "Heil" joined with the music and the sounds of the fanfares and the beating of the drums. The sun then broke through the clouds, and no one present could take the brightening of the sky as anything but a happy symbol of burning enthusiasm for the great goal of freeing Germany. Adolf Hitler now stepped up to each standard-bearer, looked him in the eye, shook his hand firmly, and then in a strong soldierly voice gave the motto for each standard.

First he said:

Today as well we want to mark the first two standards of 1923, which experienced the bloody days, so that we can always distinguish them from those that came later in the history of the movement.

With these words he fastened symbols to the standards from Munich and Landshut. They he stopped to the banner from Bayreuth and said:

Hold your banner with the same honor as the flag of 9 November 1923, which became the first blood witness.

Hanover: Accept this banner, which I expect you to carry as you have carried the banners in the past.

Rhine: Carry your banner until the day which the German Rhine is one more German.

Vienna: Carry this banner as a symbol of the unity of our movement until the shameful treaties of Versailles and St. Germain are destroyed.

Bochum: Carry this banner as you have carried out the battle against the French assault.

Zwickau: You are receiving the second Saxon banner. Carry it as the first from Plauen has been carried.

Essen: I give you this banner as a symbol of the old weapon city of the German Reich.

Potsdam: Carry this banner until the day that the banned movement in Berlin exists once more.

Ruhr: The best local group in the Ruhr has the honor of carrying the banner of the Ruhr. As of today, Gau Ruhr has received three banners. Carry the third in a manner worthy of the other two.

Accompanied by the sounds of the fighting song of the unforgettable Dietrich Eckart, the newly consecrated banners returned to their units, and with fanfares and thundering shouts of "Heil," the march of the brown columns concluded.

3. The March of the 30,000

When the consecration of the banners finished, waves of people streamed back into the center of the city. Huge throngs of onlookers lined the path of the coming S. A. march: the Wilhelm-Späth street, Schwieger Street, Wölkern and Pillenreutcher Streets, the Celtis Tunnel, the Frauentor moat, the Pfärrer, Joseph Square, Leder Alley, Kaiser Street, up to the platform at the Main Market. Baskets full of flowers were ready. Swastika banners hung from the buildings, along with the white-blue and black-white-red flags.

There was lively and colorful activity before the platform. Soon it was completely filled to the last row with party leaders and their staff, and supporters and friends of the movement. The old and distinguished buildings on the large square were also packed, every floor and every window, with onlookers. The police, polite and correct, did an exemplary job of keeping traffic and trams under control.

The cloudy, gloomy morning of a late summer day had been replaced by brilliant sunshine. The air was clear and warm, the sun even grew hot. The medical team had its work to do.

Meanwhile the leading men of the movement had gathered at the foot of the platform. There were the Reichstag representatives Frick and Feder, provincial parliament deputies von Mücke, Dr. Buttmann, Wagner, the Sudeten German delegates Jung and Krebs, the head of the party publishing firm Amann, the editor of the Völkischer Beobachter, and many city leaders.

The excitement rose as two bands in S.A. uniforms along with the dashing Postdam drum corps appeared to lively applause. Shortly after 11 a.m., the imposing march of the entire S.A. began at the Main Market. Loud music, thundering shouts of "Heil," masses of flowers greeted the brown columns as they marched past in companies, battalions and regiments. Local group followed local group, Gau followed Gau. All raised their right hand in greeting, marching literally on a carpet of flowers. Each S.A. man, each banner carrier, was covered with flowers. The colorful splendor of late summer did not end; from windows and balconies whole buckets of asters turned the Führer's car into a literal bed of flowers.

Unit after unit marched past. The storm battalions of an awakening, coming Germany, from Upper Silesia and the Nordmark, from the Pfalz, from occupied regions and old Bavaria, from Berlin and the mines of the Ruhr/ Austrians representing the Ostmark. and the proud sons of Franconia. Altogether, on foot, bikes. and trucks there were 26,000-30,000 men. Pride and enthusiasm beamed from each individual. Hardly a breath of wind moved the old banners and flags that had witnessed much blood, or the newly consecrated ones of that day.

The representatives of border areas were greeted with particular enthusiasm. The signs and slogans they had brought with always earned loud applause. There were frenetic outbursts and declarations of brotherhood between the huge crowds and the columns that marched past for two hours, culminating as the SS in their black caps marched past the platform. The German Anthem [Deutschland, Deutschland über Alles] rose powerfully to the heavens. Those who had seen the march in Weimar at the 1926 party rally knew that National Socialism's march to victory could not be halted, but the march in Nuremberg surprised even the greatest optimists. The former spirit had returned in even stronger, more confident form, celebrating its resurrection. This 21st of August reestablished a connection with the famed "German Rally" of 1923 [A major right-wing gathering], without forgetting what had happened in between.

The last groups of S.A. disappeared as the mighty procession wound its way through Rathaus Square, the Lauser Alley and the Lauser Gate to the Marien Tunnel and then back to Wodan's Square. Thousands of party members thronged forward toward the Führer stretching out their hands in an oath to the future. The jubilation and enthusiasm were indescribable.

The huge square emptied slowly, and the Führer's car had to move slowly through the thick crowds. In the distance one could hear the marching of the columns, and the thundering, untiring, shining "Heils" of the S.A. regiments, joined by the voices of the many thousands who lined the streets.

4. The Conclusion of the Party Rally

As the delegates' conference closed around 8 p.m., the hustle and bustle in the squares and on the streets signaled that the party rally was nearing its end. The Postdam drummer corps had entertained thousands at the Main Market all afternoon with its dashing music, putting them in a cheerful, excited, elevated mood. The Führer of the movement spoke for the last time at the mass meetings that evening with powerful, breath-taking words about our great cause to the enthusiastic members of the movement, both old and new. While the columns marched to the railroad station to return home on special trains, hundreds of other National Socialists gathered at the Castle, or the old Noris, looking over the rooftops of the city to the broad land of Franconia and into the growing evening, into the soul of the Reich, to that which they longed for, a free National Socialist Germany.

5. Participation in the Party Rally

Some had seen mass demonstrations, or had experienced the German Rally [of 1923], that exceeded in number the march of the National Socialist S.A. past their Führer. But that was not the important thing. More important is that a young movement daily said to be dead displayed an united, uniformed and strictly disciplined organization of impressive strength. No other political movement in Germany today is anywhere near as able to bring forth such a large military group, a group showing such perfect political and military unity as the National Socialist S.A. There is no comparison to the somewhat similar Stahlhelm [a right-wing paramilitary organization mostly of combat veterans]. The Stahlhelm does not have a politically unified spirit. Even the Reichsbanner [affiliated with the Socialist Party] claims to be above party, and recruits its members from three or four parties.

Nuremberg proved that only the National Socialist movement has its own protective organization that is dedicated to nothing but the National Socialist idea and its supreme Führer. The great success of the Nuremberg rally is its proof that this organization even today can bring out 30,000 men any day.

By the way, the march of the S.A. at the party rally did not begin to include all National Socialists who attended the rally. To get a reasonably objective idea of the attendance at Nuremberg, coming form north and south, we can best use the official figures from the Nuremberg office of the railroad.

The Nuremberg railway office states:

"47 special trains arrived in or departed from Nuremberg on Saturday the 20th of August and Sunday the 21st. Regular trains also had much greater traffic. A total of 223,600 people arrived or departed."

The usual Saturday and Sunday traffic at the main Nuremberg railway station seldom exceeds 60,000 people, so 160,000 is a reasonable estimate of the number of National Socialists. But this does not include the thousands who arrived in Nuremberg on Thursday and Friday and who only left on Monday or Tuesday. And there were many thousands who came on foot, on bicycle and in countless trucks. If we add these people, we have a total of around 200,000 people who arrived or departed. The number of party rally participants can therefore be estimated at around 100,000.

Those who were in Nuremberg on these two days, by the way, will likely find this number too low than too high.

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